Research Catalog

Sentenced to science : one black man's story of imprisonment in America

Title: Sentenced to science : one black man's story of imprisonment in America / Allen M. Hornblum.
Author: Hornblum, Allen M.
Publication: University Park, Pa. : Pennsylvania State University Press, ©2007.

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Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan Not available - Please for assistance.	Text	Use in library	R853.H8 H67 2007	Off-site

Details

Description

xiv, 207 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

"From 1951 Until 1974, Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia was the site of thousands of experiments on prisoners conducted by researchers under the direction of University of Pennsylvania dermatologist Albert M. Kligman. While most of the experiments were testing cosmetics, detergents, and deodorants, the trials also included scores of Phase I drug trials, inoculations of radioactive isotopes, and applications of dioxin, in addition to mind-control experiments for the Army and CIA. These experiments often left the subject-prisoners, mostly African Americans, in excruciating pain and had long-term debilitating effects on their health. This is one among many episodes of the sordid history of medical experimentation on the black population of the United States." "The story of the Holmesburg trials was documented by Allen Hornblum in his 1998 book Acres of Skin. The more general history of African Americans as human guinea pigs has most recently been told by Harriet Washington in her 2007 book Medical Apartheid. The subject is currently a topic of heated public debate in the wake of a 2006 report from an influential panel of medical experts recommending that the federal government loosen the regulations in place since the 1970s that have limited the testing of pharmaceuticals on prison inmates." "Sentenced To Science retells the story of the Holmesburg experiments more dramatically through the eyes of one black man, Edward "Butch" Anthony, who suffered greatly from the experiments for which he "volunteered" during multiple terms at the prison. This is not only one black man's highly personal account of what it was like to be an imprisoned test subject, but also a sobering reminder that there were many African Americans caught in the viselike grip of a scientific research community willing to bend any code of ethics in order to accomplish its goals and a criminal justice system that sold prisoners to the highest bidder."--Jacket.

Subject

Genre/Form

Personal Narrative
Anecdotes
Personal narratives
Anecdotes.
Personal narratives.
Récits personnels.

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. [201]-204) and index.

Contents

"My back is on fire" -- "The jungle" -- "Bubble-eyed Butch" -- "Don't serve time; let time serve you" -- "He's got a body like Marilyn Monroe" -- "They called me outer limits" -- "Fruit up" -- "He still has the cork in his ass!" -- "Those doctors ain't interested in you" -- "I tried my best" -- "I was in some deep shit now" -- "My spiritual awakening" -- "It was a jihad" -- "Feeling death blow past my face" -- "A righteous life" -- "Trying to get a little justice."

ISBN

9780271033365
0271033363
0271058757
9780271058757

LCCN

2007017451

OCLC

ocn123955084
123955084
SCSB-1451070

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library